Daejeon and Hongseong Wildfire Containment Rate at 60%... On-Site Helicopters Deployed to Accelerate Extinguishing Efforts

Wildfires have broken out in Daejeon and Hongseong, and the local governments and forestry authorities are currently working to extinguish them.

The Korea Forest Service wildfire suppression team is deployed to a nighttime wildfire site, conducting firefighting activities. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 3rd, the wildfires occurred the previous day in Sanjik-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon (around 12:22 PM on the 2nd), and Seobu-myeon, Hongseong-gun, Chungnam Province (around 11:00 AM on the 2nd), respectively.

In Daejeon, as of 5:00 AM on the 3rd, the containment rate is 62%, and the affected area is estimated to be 369 hectares. The wildfire is located where Sanjik-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, and Sindaeri, Boksu-myeon, Geumsan-gun, Chungnam Province meet. The on-site command is led by the Mayor of Daejeon and the County Governor of Geumsan, who have formed an integrated wildfire command center, with the Korea Forest Service’s Central Wildfire Countermeasures Headquarters jointly responding.

There have been no casualties due to the wildfire. However, about 870 residents from nearby villages evacuated to senior centers and other shelters and spent the night there. Two buildings, including private homes and hermitages, were destroyed by the fire.

In Chungnam Province, as of 5:00 AM on the 3rd, the containment rate stands at 65%. The affected area is estimated at 935 hectares.

Similarly, there have been no casualties in Chungnam, but 236 residents from villages around the wildfire site evacuated to nearby schools and village halls. Damage includes the destruction of 30 houses, 30 warehouses, one grain shrine, and one other building, totaling 62 structures lost.

The forestry authorities are accelerating firefighting efforts by sequentially deploying 17 wildfire-fighting helicopters (11 from the Korea Forest Service, 3 from the fire department, and 3 from the military) to the wildfire sites at sunrise (around 6:20 AM on the 3rd).

Earlier, the forestry authorities deployed high-performance wildfire-fighting vehicles, aerial firefighting teams, and special wildfire disaster response personnel to the nighttime wildfire sites to conduct firefighting activities.

The forestry authorities stated, “We will focus on preventing the spread of the wildfire with safety as a priority to avoid any loss of life or property damage.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.